1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a circuit arrangement for driving at least one electromagnetic relay by way of an electronic switch which is controlled and made conductive in an impulse fashion.
2. Description of Related Art
The impulse driving of relays is known, for example, in DE-A-31 44 000. Due to impulse driving, it is possible to adjust the resulting current through the coil to a minimum value which corresponds to the required holding excitation so as to keep the power used in the coil and, thus, the heating of the relay as low as possible. A positively adjusted pulse duty factor for such impulse driving can, however, only be used if the voltage does not change and if the ambient temperature remains approximately the same. See also, DE 37 01 985, French 2,568,715, German DE 35 04 034 and the article in 2087 Elektronik, 33 (1984) October No. 20, Muenchen, Deutschland, Pages 117 and 118.